Which one of the following is the most likely reason for a premature menopause occurring at the age of 38 years in a woman previously delivered of two children?

A.

Radiotherapy directed at the left breast following lumpectomy of a breast malignancy at the age of 36 years

B.

Tamoxifen therapy given following the breast surgery

C.

The six months of cytotoxic chemotherapy given following completion of the radiotherapy detailed above

D.

Cytotoxic chemotherapy given following excision of a Wilm’s tumour from her left kidney at the age of 10 years

E.

Excision of an endometrioma from her right ovary five years ago

2.

Which one of the following best describes normal follicular growth occurring in a 25 year-old woman?

A.

About 100 ovarian follicles show obvious follicular growth in each menstrual cycle

B.

In most women one follicle is selected to become the dominant follicle on about day 5–6 of that cycle

C.

The dominant follicle grows by about 1 cm per day from days 6 to 14 of the cycle

D.

The follicle ruptures when it reaches about 4 cm in diameter

E.

A separate but adjacent follicle becomes the corpus luteum

3.

Which one of the following statements about meiosis is correct?

A.

Meiosis is the mechanism of production of the seven million germ cells found in the ovary at 6 months of fetal life

B.

The first meiotic division is completed prior to birth of the baby concerned

C.

The second meiotic division commences at the time of attachment of the sperm to the oocyte

D.

Rearrangements of the genes within the chromosomes occurs after the male zygote chromosomes have entered the nucleus and combine with those of the female zygote

E.

The delay between the end of the first meiotic division and the commencement of the second meiotic division is the cause of the increased chromosome abnormality rate seen in women who conceive after the age of 37 years

4.

Which one of the following statements about the process of fertilization in the human female is correct?

A.

It usually occurs within the outer end of the Fallopian tube

B.

The female gamete determines the sex of a resulting fetus

C.

A twin pregnancy is due to failure of the normal inhibitory process, where further sperm are prevented from entering the oocyte following attachment of the first sperm to the Zona pellucida

D.

Fertilization can occur up to six days after ovulation

E.

Sperm capacitation to facilitate fertilization occurs within the seminiferous epithelium of the testis

5.

Which one of the following facts about implantation is correct?

A.

Implantation usually occurs about two days after fertilization

B.

At the time of implantation the embryo is usually at the eight-cell stage

C.

hCG is produced by the implanting embryo soon after implantation has commenced

D.

If the endometrial appearance at the time of implantation is proliferative, the pregnancy is lost as a spontaneous miscarriage

E.

If implantation occurs, the period is always delayed and a urinary pregnancy test performed two to three days after the day the period was expected, will be positive